Welcome to the February edition of thoughts too small for a full review! Quite the pitch, I know. We'll work on it. This month we have a m/m historical fiction with romantic elements, a contemporary m/f romance, and a sci-fi f/f novella.

Kelly Bowen starts off a new series with A DUKE IN THE NIGHT, an historical romance with strong feminist themes. While this book is not as strong as her Season for Scandal series, it's immensely satisfying to see a strong, wealthy, white man taking cues from a woman.

This review originally appeared at Heroes & Heartbreakers in July 2017. Since that content is no longer available, we're giving it a new home!

Once upon a time, cartographers would label maps with fun phrases like "here be dragons." This was basically a whimsical way of saying that they didn't know what was past this explored territory but it was probably going to kill and eat you. Pretty xenophobic, but also occasionally realistic because hey, there are actually things in the ocean that can kill and eat you. One of those things, depending on the story you're reading, is the mermaid. 

The plot summary for the book is so accurate that I don't think you need me to rehash that in a review. They have a meet-awful but are still drawn to each other, Josh decides porn isn't for him, takes up cam work for the same company instead. This is the bare bones plot of the book and, despite the porn industry setting, honestly the least interesting thing about it.

We talk a lot about the books we're excited for, new releases, and so on. But what books did we actually read and love? Our team whittled down their lists to one (or two) top picks for the month.

Maria Vale's debut novel THE LAST WOLF is an immersive tale of identity, trust, and love. It's a fresh take on the werewolf subgenre, steeped in history and tragedy. It is also wildly funny,  completely endearing, and stomach-churningly violent.

February is known for hearts and chocolate and romance, so what better to do than read a romance novel (or five) during the month? Here are some of the new books we're looking forward to in February 2018.

This is a difficult book to review, so I'm going to give a plot summary followed by two different takes on the book. Both takes are mine. Because, difficult book to review.

Manda Collins's third Studies in Scandal novel, Wallflower Most Wanted, pairs a painter heroine with the local vicar in a small-town cozy mystery regency romance mash-up.